More than half comes from one Fort Morgan company

CALL7 Investigators find most toxic chemicals released in Colorado waterways come from a single company.

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WASHINGTON, D.C. - New data released by the Environmental Protection Agency shows industrial facilities dumped 849,610 pounds of toxic chemicals into Colorado waterways in 2012 -- and the CALL7 Investigators have discovered more than half of it came from a single company.

EPA reports show Cargill Meat Solutions Corp. in Fort Morgan released 462,608 pounds of ammonia and nitrate compounds in 2012.

The U.S. Army in Fort Carson was the second-largest polluter, releasing 143,424 pounds of toxic chemicals.

A Suncor Energy refinery in Commerce City released 78,441 pounds, and Coors in Golden released 71,000 pounds.

According to EPA records, the Cargill facility has been out of compliance with the Clean Water Act in every quarter of the last three years, but apparently has not faced penalties.

A statement from Cargill reads in part, "... the nitrates discharged from Cargill's Fort Morgan beef processing facility are organic compounds that pose no harm to aquatic life."

Recent United States Supreme Court decision have led to fierce debate about which U.S. waterways the Clean Water Act covers.

Earlier this year, the EPA proposed new rules to clarify where the law does and does not apply, but critics in the U.S. Senate have called it a "federal land grab," and on Thursday introduced a new bill that would block the proposed changes.

Copyright 2014 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.